Newsletter march:
Spring has already made a brief appearance
Dear bee friends,
It's not just us humans who can hardly wait for spring to finally arrive and stay. The bees are also longing for sunshine, warmth and flowers with pollen and nectar.
When the sun is shining and the temperature is above 10 degrees Celsius, beekeepers can lift the lid of the colonies and check whether everything is still OK with the bees.
You can already see that some colonies have come through the winter stronger and others weaker. The strong colonies have already created a large brood nest spread over 3 combs, while the weaker colonies can only take care of a few brood cells.
For me, good overwintering is also the most important criterion for breeding the next queens. Only then do I consider peacefulness and then perhaps the honey yield from the previous year.
Maybe that's why I shouldn't be surprised that I got my first bee sting in March. Although the bee venom is painful at first, it is bearable. However, the bee dies in this defense for the colony, as the sting including the venom blister gets stuck in the human skin due to the re-hooking.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, bee venom is also said to be healing, e.g. against rheumatism. If necessary, you can simply hold a hand in front of the entrance hole. From now on, a sting is guaranteed again, as the guards are already very careful that no enemies enter and damage the brood. In my case, the swelling subsides very quickly so that I can hardly remember the sting the next day. It was very different when I was a child. I used to miss school if I had been stung by one of my father's bees the day before and I felt really ill for a few days.
However, if you don't stand directly in front of the entrance hole, the bees usually tolerate you. The beekeeper therefore always works on the back of the colonies.
On a trip to the Allgäu in February, we discovered a beautiful beehive where a hotel had taken over the bee sponsorship. This means that everyone benefits from the bees: the hotel can spoil its guests with its own honey, the flowers are pollinated by the bees and provide a particularly good hay, the guests can enjoy nature with the buzzing bees on a walk and the beekeeper certainly doesn't have to do the work without pay. An information board at the apiary explains this very clearly.
I have now received my own melted wax back from a certified organic wax processing company in the Bavarian Forest and will soon be able to start soldering the wax into the empty frames. I need these for the honey chambers, but they probably won't be set up before Easter when the cherry blossom begins. Until then, the bees will still need a lot of food to raise the new generation. Before they run out, I have to transfer honeycombs from other colonies or feed them with a food bag containing sugar syrup or my own honey.
As I still have enough honey from the previous year, my honey has also been on sale at Friedl's Biohof in Biburg since March. There's no better way to buy vegetables! Carmen also picks up home-grown spinach fresh from her own field every now and then. Organic, regional, fresh and with my honey in the range - it doesn't get any better than that. To make the journey even more worthwhile, I can also recommend the Braumiller farm in Biburg with its free-range Charolais cattle and its own butcher's shop for connoisseurs of really good meat.
So, if it's up to me and the bees, spring can finally come.
Many thanks to all bee sponsors and partners for their support and all the best, especially health, happiness and confidence for the new year 2025!
Stay healthy and confident!
Your beekeeper
Michael Ruhdorfer